Zimbabwe’s information minister, Soda Zhemu, told a post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare on 19 May 2026 that 2,889 people accused of drug offences had been brought before the courts and 381 convictions secured.[1] Zhemu said authorities dismantled 31 drug bases in selected districts of Manicaland and Mashonaland West provinces.[1] He said authorities also arrested 2,436 individual end-users and about 453 drug suppliers.[1]

The drugs confiscated, valued by the government at about ZiG79,931,130, included crystal meth, cocaine, ecstasy tablets, dagga, khat and unregistered medicines such as cough syrups.[1] The government said it had removed 32 children from the streets and reunited 171 others with their families as part of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.[1]

It said 615 liquor-licensed premises were inspected countrywide and 36 unlicensed outlets were fined and closed.[1] The awareness and prevention campaigns had reached 285,918 beneficiaries, while rehabilitation, training and entrepreneurship programmes for young people and women had reached about 37,937 people, Zhemu said.[1] The government has launched a US$1 million Youth Empowerment Fund to offer economic alternatives to vulnerable young people.[1]